Elements of Webpage Design

Exploring the elements of design in website development, I chose to examine one of my favorite websites, rockcreek.com.

Rock Creek Outfitters caters to the outdoor enthusiast; offering a variety of outdoor clothing for men and women, recreational gear and accessories.

The site’s most important content is located at the top of its home webpage and the bottom of its home webpage. The site’s header includes the Rock Creek logo at the topmost left and then across the page lists the most essential aspects of a customer’s shopping experience: My Cart, My Account, Wish List, Shipping, Customer Service, and Track My Order. Below this includes the site’s search bar, its telephone number, and its acclaimed free shipping on orders totaling over $49. The footer of Rock Creek includes the site’s legalities and contact information, such as its return policy and mission statement. Each of these remains constant and does not change as the website modifies its seasonal offerings and sales, thus these are the site’s “given”.

In addition to the site’s topmost header and bottommost footer, the webpage employs the use of sub-headers, (Announcements, Events, Features, and News), in the heart of its homepage, keeping the site precisely organized. The simplicity of the site is what often makes Rock Creek a pleasurable shopping experience.

Utilizing the “given-new”, the “new” being the site’s variables, Rock Creek’s “new” can be found below the header and sub-headers, or by clicking on each of the “given.” Coupons and web exclusives are often found beneath the header, which are ever changing, as are the site’s featured products and awards.

The site’s development has made a great use in incorporating the “tree” model. The “tree” model easily breaks down the categories of each header and sub-header, and most notably the site’s “shop,” found on the right of the site’s homepage. The consumer is able to easily choose what product they would like to peruse simply by clicking on the various “branch” of the “shop” tree. The expansion of each branch allows the consumer to then further narrow down what they wish to possibly purchase through the greater “branches” of gender, size, popularity and price.

The “given-new” and the “tree” model are chiefly the main element of design used, however quite obviously the “table” model is used efficiently in conveying the measurements of the size chart, which aids in selecting the perfect fit unique to the consumer. In a way, the size chart is often another form of the given, as most sizes of tops and bottoms are universal in their dimensions/measurements.

http://www.rockcreek.com